Process of cutting metals.



RJ. J. MUELLER.

PROCESS OF CUTTING METALS. APPLICATION man MAY 23, mo.

1 ,142,355. I Patented June 8,1915.

I48 Inventor,

WWM-

- UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE. 4

RUDOLPH J. J. MUELLER, OF. MILWAUKEE, WISCQNSIN, .AS S IGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MEN'TS, I OXWELD AGETYLENE COMIANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORA: I

TION OF VIRGINIA;

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RUDOLPH J. J. v MUELLER, a subject of the Emperor of- Germany, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Processes of Cutting Metals, of which, the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a partthereof.

The present invention relates to the process of cutting metals by directin a heating flame or jet against .the metal, ollowed by an: oxidizing jet. In cutting thick objects or in making deep cuts by this process, serious difficulties have been encountered; The accumulation or chilling of the oxid formed by the second jet tends to choke andarre'st' or retard the out before it passes completely through the object, besides, the -'cut pro gresses very slowly, leaving rough or uneven surfaces and consuming comparatively largequantities of the-" 'hea ting and oxidizing ases. To overcome these. difiiculties it has een proposed to employ a. third "jet 'ofair of a nonoxidizing gas suchas hydrogen, following the second oroxidizing jet, in order to blow or mechanically remove from the cut the melted oxid as it is formed and prevent choking and arrest or retardation of the out by the oxid and oxidation of the walls of the cut laterally behind the normal path of the oxidizing jet.

A The object of the present invention is not only to overcome the above mentioned difficulties, but also to enable large or thick metal bodies to be rapidlyand smoothly cut through, with the consumption of much'less gas than is required when either air ova nonoxldizing gas is used alone. for the third jet. V

According to theaprecess which consti-' tutes the present invention, in addition to and following the heating and the oxidizing jets, a separate heatin 'jet composed of a mixture of a combustib e as such as hydro- I gen and'an oxidizing gas 31s usedto keep the oxid as it is formedby the oxidizing jet, fluid, and thus facilitate and hasten its re? moval from thecu't'a'nd at-the same time;

' impairing h e ncy of the oxidii' ing jet, 'the last jet being supplied with sufii- 'cient oxygen to maintain combustion of'the" inflammablegas with which it is mixed and Specification of Letters Patent.

raocnss or comma METALS.

Patented June 8 1915.

Application filed May 23, 1910, Serial 1] o. 562,835.

The apparatus comprises three nozzles or blow'pipes, a, b and a, which are connected with a yoke d provided with guiding wheels 6, to facilitate holding and directing the nozzles in proper relation to the work.

The first nozzle a isconnectedby a flexible pipe or hose f with a mixer and cooler g, in

which it is connected by pipes in and [with cylinders or receptacles j and k containing hydrogen and oxygen respectively. The sec ond nozzle 6 is connected-by a flexible pipe or hose 1 with. the pipe 21 or with the .oxygen receptacle k. The thirdnozzle c is connect ed by aflexible pipe or hose on through the mixer and cooler g and (pipes n and o, with v the gas receptacles 7' an 70. The pipe connection adjacent to the second nozzle bis providedwitha stop cock or valve ;0 and a quick acting out ofl valve p, and the pipe connection adjacent to the third nozzle 0 is provided with a stop cock 'orvalve'q, all

withinconstant reach of the operator. The

connections of the pipes 11. and n with the receptacle y'and of'the ipes z and o withthe receptacle Ir: are provi ed with-reducing or automatic regulating valves 7', and on opposite sides thereof with high and low pressure gages s and "t.

The pipe connection with the second nozzle b is also provided with a pressure gage a,

' to facilitate regulation of the pressure 1n said nozzle and the forceof the ox1d1z1ng et issuing therefrom.

1 In the operation of the apparatus, to

carry out the process, a-mixture' of heat pro- 'ducing gases such as hydrogen and oxygen is supplied to the first nozzle'a, and beingignited at the nozzle the heating jet thus pro- ""duced is directed against apart of the metal object 'to be cut.- When the part against which the jet is directed has becomeheated nozzle 0. The nozzlesare thenmovediov'er sufliciently to burn in oxygen, a jet of oxygen" f is directed against iti'from the second nozthe object in theline of the .cutto be made,

and the oxygen being projected against the metal which has been preliminarily heated to an oxidizing temperature by the heating jet rojected from the first'nozzle, oxidizes the metal and produces a. clean smooth out jet of oxygen by whichits cutting action is extending clear through it. The jet of hy' drogen and oxygen'or the like, issuing from .the third nozzle 0 immediately behind the second nozzle, supplies sufficient heat and force in addition to the heat generated by and theforce of the oxygen jet to keep the oxid 'produced thereby 'in a fluid state and to instantly and completely remove the same from the out without depriving the second duced by the second jet is effectively removed vfrom the out without, diminishing the cutting. effect of the second jet, thereby enabling it to rapidly make a deep smooth out with the consumption of aminimurn volume of gas.

In comparative tests, an inch steel billet has been smoothly cut through in two minutes and three seconds with atotal consumption of 31.5-feet of gas, using a mixture con-- taining from about 4 to 25 per cent. of

oxygen in the third nozzle, whileto make the same cut using air in the third nozzle,

. the time required was three minutes and twenty-seven seconds and the total volume of gas consumed was 71.5 feet, and using hydrogenalone in the third nozzle the time required to make, the cut was three minutes and thirty seconds, and the total volume of gasconsumed was 63 feet. 1

The relative proportions of oxygen and hydrogenv or other inflammable gas employed in the third nozzle maybe widely varied under varying conditions with successful results.-

Thus it will be seen that by the use of a mixture of oxygen'with an inflammable gas in the third nozzle in place ofair or o a nonoxidizing gas such as hydrogen alone, the total consumption of gas is reduced approximately one-ha'lffand the time required i to do the .work is materially shortened.

.' I claim: v

1. Theprocess of cutting metalswhich consistsinprojecting upon the metal to becut a jet of oxygen following a heating jet to maintain combustion without deprivingthe preceding jet of oxygen. I

2. The process of cutting metals which I consists in projecting upon the metal to be cut a jet of oxygen following a heating jet and immediately followed by a jet composed of a mixture of a combustible gas and an oxidizing gas to maintain the heat and fluidity of the oxid produced by the second jet and expedite its removal from'the cut.

,3. The process of cutting metals which consists in heating the metal to be cut to a temperature atwhich it will burn in oxygen, then projecting against it along the desired line of the cut a jet of-oxygen followed by a jet composed of a mixture of oxygen with an inflammable gas.

4. The process of cutting metals which consists in heating the metal to be cut to an oxidizing temperature, directing a jet of oxygen against the metal along the line of section immediately followed by a heating jet composed of constituents necessary to maintain combustion without depriving the preceding jet of oxygen.

5. The process of cutting metals which consists in projecting upon the metal to be cut a jet of oxygen following a heating'jet and immediately followed by another heating jet, the third jet being regulable independently of the first jet.

6. The processof-cutting metals which consists in proje'cting upon the metal to be out a .jet of oxygen' following a heating jet and immediately followedby a jet composed of'a mixture of a combustible gas and an oxidizing gas, the proportions of the constituent gases of the third jet being regulable independently of the first jet.

7. The process of cutting metals which consists in projecting upon the metal to be cut a jet of oxygen following a heating jet andfimmediately followed by a jet composed of a mixture of an inflammable gas and an oxidizing gas, the composition and strength of the third jet being regulable independently of the first .and second jets.

'- In witness whereof I hereto aflix my sig nature in' presence of two witnesses. RUDOLPH J. J. MUELLER.

- Witnesses: 3

- Ones. L. Gross, Amen E. Gross.

Correction in Letters Patent No 142,355

Signed and sealed this 6th day of July, A. DQ, 1915,

It is hereby certified that in Letters PatentfNo. 1,142,355, granted J line 8, 1915,?

upon the application of Rudolph J. J. Mueller, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for an improvement in Processes of Cutting Metals, an-error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 25, after the word air insert the word or;

correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case" in iih-e Patent Ofii ce;

S AL 3. F. WHITEHEAD,

Actmg' C'ommissz'omn' of Patents.

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this 

